Company for Dinner
by Charmed-and-More
Summary: After PP. Danny and Sam face their biggest challenge yet: dinner with their parents. Of course it's not long before a ghostly someone interrupts. Walker's back and it's not just Danny he's after, but his partner in crime, Sam, as well. DxS of course.
1. Chapter 1: Confession

**Hey This is my first time posting a fanfic so please be gentle. I'm not quite ready for flames. I hope you enjoy it as I've been enjoying many of your stories . . .**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. (Is this really necessary?)**

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Danny's voice penetrated Sam's thoughts, snapping her attention back to the present. She was snuggled against Danny's chest under the tree at what was quickly becoming her new favorite spot in town, the place where Danny gave her the "Wes" ring and declared that he wanted her beside him through whatever challenges they faced.

Well boy did she have a challenge to offer him tonight. Which was why she had felt the need to call him up at midnight, complaining of trouble sleeping. It was not the first time she had done this since they started dating, but still she felt bad every time no matter how much Danny insisted that she wasn't depriving him of much-needed sleep. Being the good boyfriend he is, Danny had flown right over and snuck her out of the house, something not at all difficult for him of course. It felt good to escape her house and get alone time, specifically Tucker-free time, with Danny.

Sam sighed. "Danny, I have a confession," she began, sitting up so she could look him in his china blue eyes which at the moment were somehow showing curiosity at what she had to say and, at the same time, complete trust. "I called you because I was supposed to ask you about something tonight when we were at the movie, but I chickened out and then felt stupid and so I decided I had to talk to you tonight-"

"Whoa, slow down," Danny said gently, straightening up and placing his hands on her shoulders. Sam realized she had started babbling and gave him a look that said "I feel really _really_ stupid now and don't know what to say."

"If you have something to ask me, Sam, then just do it. You know you can tell me anything," Danny soothed with a slight chuckle.

Sam took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "My parents want to have you and your parents over for dinner." She opened her eyes to see an amused smile play across his face.

"That's it?" he said, repressing laughter. "Yes," Sam replied sternly, daring him to laugh at her.

"Okay, cool, we'll be there," he said, swallowing the laughter, but still smiling.

"No, you don't get it! Argh!" Sam stood up now and Danny followed her lead.

"This is _bad_, Danny, you know how much our parents hate eachother!"

"They don't _hate_ eachother, Sam."

"Ohhh, yes they do, remember the whole Freakshow thing and-"

Danny cut her off, "That was a long time ago and-"

"And nothing! My parents think yours are unrefined freaks and your parents think mine are stuck up, which, yah, they sorta are," her voice trailed off for a second, "I mean, can you even imagine having to sit at the dinner table with all of them for like several hours with nothing to do but talk? Oh and let's not forget it's not just any dinner table, but a super special fancy one in my freakin' ballroom of a dining room!"

Sam finally stopped and just stared at Danny who was giving her his you're-so-cute-when-you-get-upset-like-that look. She liked that look and couldn't help but smile, so she added, "Do you get it now?" to remind him she's serious.

"Yes," he said composing himself and sounding serious as well, "I understand that you find dinner parties painful, especially if they involve your parents. But they're making an effort and that's what counts. Now I just have to convince my parents to do the same."

It wouldn't be hard, he thought to himself. Ever since they had found out his secret Danny had had to start telling them the truth all the time and it wasn't actually that bad. Their relationship was better because of it. They would understand if he asked them to tough it out one night in nice clothes for a swanky dinner. Plus they like Sam.

Sam had turned to stare down at the town from their hill. Danny came up behind her and put his arms around her.

"Alright," she finally said, "but our parents' behavior wasn't the only thing I was worried about."

"What else?" Danny said, without much attention as he had started kissing her neck.

"Ghosts," she simply stated. He stopped and sighed.

"Yah, there's always that."

But then he laughed, "It's one night though, I mean, there are nights when no one bothers us. You have to admit, there's been a lot less since the disasteroid," he stopped to turn her around to face him, "besides, it'll give us something to do instead of talk!"

**Wow, it seems so long. I hope it's not **_**too**_** wordy. I like a lot of dialogue when I read fanfics. Sometimes I'll read one without even reading much besides the dialogue. Anyways, I'm not going to demand reviews, but if you would like to, I'd love to hear from you just so I know **_**someone's**_** reading.**


	2. Chapter 2: Promise

**First of all I'd like to give a big "Thank you!" to my very supportive reviewers, namely TexasDreamer01, ArtGirlPhantom, Phantom'sShadow94, Miriam1, DPcrazy, cariadiorarua, and Cantdecideonaname! You guys rock! To answer a question I received, everyone knows Danny's secret. I just assumed that was understood when I put on the summary that it takes place after Phantom Planet, but I see how that could still mean some people don't know. I mention in this chapter how he did a bunch of interviews after the whole incident so that should help set the scene as well. Oh and I unblocked anonymous reviews. Thanks for pointing that out, I didn't know about that. Okay on to the story then!**

"DANNY!" Sam shrieked into the phone as once again she heard blasts and huffy breaths, but no actual words coming from the other end.

"Yah, I'm here," he quickly responded, "but like I said I'm a little busy right now." More blasts.

"Now?/! With only half an hour until the dinner?/! This can't be happening! If I have to spend even _one _second alone with both our parents because you're still _busy_-"

"That's not going to happen," he assured her, "Ha! You missed!"

Sam sighed. She wished she could be there helping and instead she was stuck "getting ready for the company" which was more like making sure her mom didn't over do it with the dainty hors d'oeuvres (A/N: took me forever to find out how to spell that word but it had to be that one, appetizers sounds too cheap for Sam's family.) and too much silverware.

"Who is it anyways?" she asked. Danny hesitated to tell her. She could tell.

"It's no one. Just a couple of Walker's goons out patrolling," he finally replied, as if it was no big deal. Sam knew better.

"Oh and you're sure they couldn't possibly be in Amity Park because Walker sent them to get you and when they fail, he won't come after you himself?" She waited for an answer as she went around her dining room table unfolding the cloth napkins from an extravagant swan to just a simple rectangle. "Well?" she persisted into the phone.

"Look I uh . . . I really gotta go-" he paused "-and now my mom's calling me too, oh great."

"Just promise me you'll be here," Sam pleaded.

"I promise."

Danny hung up with Sam and then answered his cell to have a similar conversation with his mom. He was finally able to convince her that she didn't have to worry about him even if they left for the Mansons' without him and hung up.

"Now to deal with you two," he said turning back to two of Walker's men poised with buzz batons (er whatever those things are).

(A/N: I'm skipping the action scene for now. I'm not very good at narrating the fights. But I promise there will be more action later!)

The doorbell rang. Sam took a deep breath and fixed her dress in the mirror on the wall by the door. (A/N: Yes, she is wearing a dress. Calm down, it's black and not frilly. I'm not making her too girly. I feel that I can still be true to her character while letting her wear a dress because of the time she wore that dress to the dance with the dragon. I'm taking time to say this because one of my fave authors on fanfiction doesn't like it when people make Sam girly and I respect that. Anyways, back to the story.)

"Mom! Dad! C'mon! They're here!" Sam yelled down the entrance way.

"Coming, coming dear," Mrs.Manson said as she hurried up to the door poofing up her hair, followed by her husband, "though I still don't understand what the bid deal is with actually answering the door when Max (dunno the butler's real name) can just do it for us."

"It's important to me Mom," Sam offered as the only explanation.

"Would I be doing it if it wasn't?" Mrs.Manson questioned, fixing her daughter with an I'm-trying-to-be-understanding gaze, "You're letting us do this and so it's only fair that we let you have your . . . conditions."

"Right," Sam said, not really hearing her mother. She had butterflies. Really bad, annoying ones. "Let's just do this," she said opening the door.

The Fentons were greeted with huge smiles and we're-so-glad-you're-here eyes. But Sam's smile faded when she realized that only two Fentons stood on their doorstep. Danny was missing.

"Where's Danny?" she quickly asked.

Jack and Maddie's we're-glad-to-be-here-too smiles disappeared as the two exchanged looks.

Sam clenched her fists and began to mutter, "He promised he'd be-"

"Here."

The Fentons turned in surprise to reveal Danny standing behind them dressed in what had become his signature look: all black suit and shirt with silver tie. His mom, Jazz, and Sam had had way too much fun one day when they dragged him to the mall and picked out clothes for his many interviews on talk shows and such.

Sam couldn't hide her astonishment as her eyes grew wide and her mouth gaped. She finally composed herself when she noticed the gleam of amusement in Danny's eyes and refused to give him any more satisfaction. It was obvious from his parents' looks of confusion that he hadn't been behind them when they rang the doorbell.

Sam's parents recovered quickly from the strange exchange and continued smiling while inviting everybody in. Jack and Maddie, dressed appropriately for the dinner (no hazmat suits), put their smiles back on and stepped into the house. Danny followed and Sam let her parents lead his parents farther inside while she stayed behind to give her boyfriend a "proper" greeting.

She punched his arm.

"Hey, ow," he complained, not really meaning it.

"You did that on purpose," she accused.

"No, I swear," he insisted, "I just finished changing like five seconds ago and flew up to the doorstep right as you answered the door. You know I wouldn't want to scare you like that after I promised."

Sam just smiled and grasped his hand.

"What," Danny said wearily, "you're gonna let me off the hook just like that?"

"Can't help it," Sam answered playfully, "you just look so good in that suit."

She snuck a quick kiss from his lips while he was still processing what she had said. Then he smiled.

"Thanks, you look great too. I love the dress."

She watched his eyes rake up and down her figure in the little black dress before they returned to her face.

"Thanks," she said staring into his eyes, momentarily forgetting their parents waiting in the other room.

"You gonna show me to the drawing room, Miss Manson?" Danny teased, ruining the moment in Sam's opinion.

She rolled her eyes before joining in on the act. "Well of course, _Mister_ Fenton, but for your information, it's called the sitting room."

**Whoo! Long chapter, but I hope you're enjoying it!**

**I actually have already written out most of this story in advance. I'm really busy sometimes and would feel immensely guilty if I couldn't update for a long time and left you guys hanging. So I'm gonna try to post often, but we'll see how long my stored-up chapters last when I get busy again.**


	3. Chapter 3: Uninvited Guest

**Thanks again to everybody for reviewing and making me enjoy what I'm doing. I apologize if the author notes made the story hard to follow last time. I'll put stuff like that at the end from now on. Don't have much else to say today except for enjoy . . .**

After hors d'oeuvres in the "sitting room" the group filed into the dining room. All in all Sam couldn't complain. It turned out that there were plenty of safe subjects for them to discuss. Sure they were lacking in any real substance, "nice curtains" and "odd weather we're having, aren't we?" and stuff like that, but they weren't causing arguments and that's what mattered.

Of course, there had been the awkward part when her parents tried to _politely_ ask about how Danny was doing with his "job" as defender of the city from all things ghostly. But Danny had acted like it was no big deal and answered back just as politely.

Now all she had to do was hope nothing came up during dinner. Luckily, their dining room table was so unnecessarily huge that it was difficult for there to be just one conversation. Soon her mom had struck up a separate conversation with Maddie and her dad with Jack, so she and Danny were on their own. Just the way she liked it.

"So you never said what happened with Walker's guys," she suddenly said as she pushed her salad around on her plate. The dumb butterflies were still there, wreaking havoc so she wasn't very hungry. Danny looked up at her from across the table, then down at their parents chatting away at the other end of the table. He didn't like talking about fighting ghosts in front of her parents, no matter how much she insisted it didn't matter.

"Well, you know, just told them to stay outta town and quit bothering everybody," he replied casually.

Sam shot him her oh-please-you-know-that's-not-what-I-meant look.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yes," he answered her unspoken question, "I used . . . force, you know." He was still sneaking glances at her parents.

"So they're in the thermos?" she pressed onward with the topic.

"They were, but I put them back in the ghost zone," he said, finally returning his full attention to his salad. He opened his mouth to stick in a bite, but that pesky blue mist trickled out instead.

"Smooth move," Walker's voice easily floated over every conversation in the room.

Sam's panicked eyes met Danny's. "Crud," they both said at the same time.

Everyone's attention turned to the stark white ghost in the pin-striped suit now standing at the head of the table, closest to Danny and Sam.

"You returned my officers to the ghost zone where they reported back to me that you would not come quietly," Walker continued in that funny condescending way he has of talking. He leaned over the table to get in Danny's face. "Now you'll come extra quietly cuz you'll be unconscious for the _whole_ trip."

Danny was matching Walker's gaze with an equal amount of disdain, but he cocked his head to the side so he could see Sam.

"You may have been on to something with that whole 'Walker will come after you himself' thing," Danny said casually.

"Lucky guess," Sam couldn't help but join in his this-ghost-is-so-not-a-threat act, even though she was worried. The butterflies were doing cartwheels off the lining of her stomach.

Danny continued to look unimpressed. "Look Walker, I'd _love_ to play cops and robbers with you, but I'm kinda in the middle of something important," he spat in Walker's face. He felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him. His parents still weren't used to seeing him sass ghosts and if it weren't for the fact that he had forbidden them from bringing ghost weapons to the dinner, they might have already been leaping into action at his side.

"Yah, I see," Walker purred, "dinner with the girlfriend's family, how nice. Too bad I DON'T CARE!" Before Danny could even think of transforming, Walker whipped out what looked like a soda can and popped the top. A thick pink gas billowed out and filled the room.

Then, everything went black.

**Sorry, it's short but the last chapter was pretty long so it evens out. Plus I might post the 4****th**** chapter later tonight. Oh, cops and robbers, that's an old game like hide 'n go seek I guess. I hope that reference wasn't too old. Anyways, hope you all are having as much fun as me!**


	4. Chapter 4: Prison Record

**I managed to get this chapter done tonight as well so I've decided to go ahead and post it since chapter 3 was so short and it had that cliff-hanger. Enjoy . . .**

Slowly, the fog covering Danny's thoughts began to clear. He could hear muffled voices and could tell that he was sitting in a chair with his hands held behind his back and secured with handcuffs. Their cool metal felt strange and he realized they were probably glowing, keeping him from using his powers.

Suddenly a downpour of cold water was washing over his head that was lolled back over the edge of the chair. The pressure almost made him tip back, but his reflexes quickly persuaded his sluggish body to pull his head forward to try to get the water from getting in his nose. Just as quickly as it came, the water stopped.

Fully awake now, he coughed and blinked open his eyes. He could make out one of Walker's agents standing in front of him with a bucket.

"Geez, I'm awake, alright?" he snapped.

"Good." And with that the ghost left through a wide set of doors at the far end of what appeared to be some kind of huge warehouse. Two more of Walker's goons flanked either side of the doors. It dawned on Danny then that he wasn't in the ghost zone. What was Walker trying to pull? He coughed some more and shook his head to get the water to stop dripping from his hair and into his eyes.

Someone next to him cleared her throat. He turned to see Sam sitting right next to him also tied up in a chair and now with water droplets decorating her face.

"Oh gosh! Hey!" he stammered, "I'm sorry! I had no idea you were right here!"

Sam let out a small laugh, "It's okay. You're disoriented, getting the water wake-up treatment can do that to you."

"He didn't do that to you, did he?" Danny asked concerned.

"No, we all woke up on our own. You were the only one still out when he came in."

"Wait, we?"

Sam gave him a weird you-didn't-know? look and jerked her head in the direction of the side of the room nearest to her. Danny looked past her to see their parents behind bars. His parents offered him some weak smiles. Maddie was sitting cross-legged on the ground at the front of the cage despite the nice red dress she still had one. Jack was standing beside her shifting uncomfortably in his suit. Meanwhile Sam's looked scared stiff. Her mom just kinda stood there hugging herself and her dad had his arms around his wife, trying to comfort her.

"Oh crud," Danny said, not knowing what else to say. What do you say to your girlfriend's parents when a ghost has drugged and kidnapped them just so he can get his revenge on you?

"Look, I'm really sorry," Danny began, but Sam's dad interrupted.

"No, it's okay," he said slowly, "you can't control these things."

Sam let out a yah-right snicker at that, then quickly regretted it when she saw Danny's gaze snap to her. He looked hurt, but he knew she was right. She couldn't look into his eyes anymore and stared down at her lap.

"I didn't mean-" she started.

"No, you're right," Danny said as he leaned back in his chair, "you can go ahead with the 'I told you so.'"

"Never," she insisted, "I'd never say that." It was funny, she realized, because before they were boyfriend and girlfriend she would have come down on him about how he doesn't take his responsibilities as a ghost-fighter seriously enough. And here she was now trying not to hurt his feelings. Was this relationship making her soft?

"No, no, let's see that makes you two for two tonight," Danny continued, but his tone was playful, "you predicted that a ghost would interrupt dinner and then you even figured out what ghost it would be."

Sam looked over at him. "I'm just that good," she replied.

"No, _my life_ is just that predictable," Danny corrected.

They both laughed, leaving most of the adults baffled as they actually thought the two were fighting.

Their laughter was interrupted by sharp deliberate footsteps coming towards the doors. Everyone watched as Walker entered the room carrying two file folders. He dismissed the guards with a nod and casually opened one of the folders as he approached Danny and Sam in the middle of the room.

He began to speak in clear authoritative voice, "Daniel Fenton also known as Danny Phantom, formerly known as Prisoner Number 8071294 last enc-"

"Prisoner?/!" Maddie cut in, unable to control her surprise.

"Walker glanced at her and then turned to Danny. "Your parents don't know about your record?" he asked accusingly.

**Oops, that's also sorta a cliff-hanger! Sorry. Like I said earlier, I'm not very good at narrating fights, so there's a lot of dialogue. I promise there will be action eventually, but there's a lot more banter coming up. But I think that's just as fun.**


	5. Chapter 5: Cold

**I can't stop saying "Thanks!" to my reviwers!****Last Samurai Ryu-san**** – your idea for what Danny would say was hilarious! I hope you like what I came up with!**

Upon hearing of Danny's status as a "prisoner," Sam's parents' faces immediately clouded with disapproval. His parents showed some shock, but they trusted Danny and he was quick to clear things up.

"I didn't feel the need to inform them of my _brief_ stay at your _pretend _jailhouse where you sit in your office making up stupid rules just so that you can _imagine_ you're an actual jailer with real criminals to catch," Danny could have gone on but Walker interjected by clearing his throat and went back to using his authoritative voice.

"Last encountered on a prisoner-retrieval mission. First encountered whe-"

"Prisoner-retrieval mission?" Danny interrupted.

"I think he's talking about Wulf at the camp," Sam put in.

"Precisely," Walker growled, annoyed at getting interrupted again, "Now as I was saying," he cleared his throat, "first encountered when flying in the ghost zone with unauthorized recording equipment, which brings us to your first charge, a mere misdemeanor, but sadly in your case, also a gate-way crime," Walker paused to see that he had everyone's attention and was especially pleased to see Danny shooting him daggers with his glare.

"One count of unauthorized use of recording equipment for which you were sentenced to serve 100 years in prison," Walker continued firmly, "You were then placed in cell block D where you served a total of 3 hours and 21 minutes of your sentence before staging an uprising with the assistance of Prisoner Number 2796510 also known as Skulker."

Walker looked up from the file to see Danny smiling and nodding to himself.

"Good times," he commented to Sam.

"Really?" she replied sarcastically, "well yah, you certainly looked like you were having the time of your life when Tucker and I came to rescue you in the Specter Speeder. I guess it was part of your plan to be pinned under Walker's boot."

"Hey, I would have figured out that humans can go through things in the ghost zone eventually," Danny shot back, playfully.

"Right," Sam said still sounding unconvinced, but she was also just kidding. Danny seemed to be in an inappropriately flirtatious mood. She followed his lead as normally she would be all for flirting in front of Walker as if he totally didn't scare her. Which he didn't! But still, there was something about her parents being there that put her on edge. That, and the fact that the butterflies were having a freakin' fiesta.

"Humans can go through things in the ghost zone?" Maddie suddenly cut in from where she had seated herself on the floor of their cell, completely absorbed in what she was learning about her son and his experiences with this ghost. She knew Danny had been in the ghost zone before, but he hadn't shared much of his knowledge yet. He kept promising to take them for a tour of the mysterious realm when he thought it would be the safest. Maddie was beginning to think that was never.

"Yes," Walker answered her, "That is why you are here instead of at my jailhouse in the zone," he turned to smirk at Danny, "This one would be all over the place what with his _special _abilities."

"It's like I said before," Danny said, his eyes blazing (though not really since his powers weren't working), "your rules don't apply."

"We'll see about that," Walker said as he returned to reading the file, "Prisoner was free for several months after that until a prisoner-retrieval mission could be planned. It was during this mission that the prisoner came into contact with Prisoner Number 1289573 also known as-"

"Wulf," Danny and Sam both finished for him. They smiled at eachother for thinking alike. Danny's smile looked weak, though. At first Sam thought that he was just finally being serious and realizing how much trouble they were in. But then she noticed that his smile was shaky. His teeth were chattering.

"Yes," Walker said, barely acknowledging the interruption this time, "that brings us to your growing list of felonies to which after the second encounter I added 1 count of assisting in a fugitive's escape."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Danny, a look of growing concern on her face.

Walker once again looked up from the file as he let out an exasperated sigh. "What is it now?" He looked from the worried girlfriend to a shivering Danny.

"I d-don't kn-n-n-ow," Danny stuttered, teeth chattering.

"What did you do to him?" Sam accused, whipping around to fix Walker with a hateful glare.

Walker just smirked, looking proud of himself.

"O-oh, I know," Danny said trying to control his teeth so he could at least talk right, "he remembered how I got him last time with my ff-ff-freezing abilities. You gave me something extra to try to control them, even though these c-cuffs would have done the trick."

"You're right," Walker explained proudly, "I didn't trust the cuffs so while you were out I gave you something else, a potion I concocted all on my own, designed to short out your freezing abilities for several hours."

"You're an idiot!" Danny suddenly shouted. Furious, he explained "You can't just turn off the cold, it's a part of me! So instead you just took away my ability to control it!"

"You mean like how you were before Frostbite helped you?" Sam asked, trying to understand.

"Exac-actly," Danny faltered, still struggling to control his teeth. He seemed to be trying to tell her something with his eyes, but Sam didn't have a clue as to what it could be. If he really wanted to talk to her, they'd need Walker out of the room. Suddenly, Sam got an idea.

She turned to Walker, "Would you at least get him a blanket or something? It's your fault anyways!"

Walker gave her one of his you-think-you-can-order-me-around? glares, but then relented with another frustrated sigh.

"Guard!" he shouted.

"Oh, duh," Sam thought to herself, "of course he's not going to go get it himself."

A guard appeared in the doorway and Walker told him to go get a blanket out of the jet they'd flown in from the Ghost Zone.

"But, sir," the ghost started timidly, "the only one with a key to the jet is you. You said no one was allowed in it alone after that other guard tired to steal it last week."

A glimmer of hope shot through Sam as Walker sighed for the hundredth time today. He began muttering to himself about how stupid and incompetent the guards were as he walked out of the room with the guard following.

"Whoa," Sam said excitedly, "I can't believe that worked!"

"Sweetie?" Maddie called from the cell, "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Actually, Mom, I'm fine," Danny said and he looked better too. He wasn't even shaking anymore.

"You were faking?/!" Sam practically yelled. For some reason she felt tricked and that made her mad.

"No, not really," Danny assured her. But everyone was staring at him with very confused expressions so he rushed to explain before Walker came back.

"Whatever Walker gave me _stimulated_ the cold instead of stopping it. I can still control it. It's like he turned it up a notch, making it harder for me to control because it's more than I'm used to."

"But you can get control of it and then _use_ it?" Maddie asked, surprising everybody. None of the other adults were really able to follow what he meant.

"Exactly. I just need some more time." Danny responded.

"How much time?" Sam practically whined. This whole situation had her on edge, what with the parents, the butterflies, Danny with no powers. "But there's hope," she reminded herself and tried to pay attention to what Danny was saying.

"I don't know," he was answering her, "It's just that if I try to use it now I'm pretty sure I'll freeze you too."

"Oh," Sam said, her hope fading a little, which just made the butterflies even more excited. She tried to think positively. She, Danny, and Tucker had been in worse, right? She smiled as she recalled how earlier tonight she had been so nervous about her parents messing things up and now that worry seemed so insignificant. The difference was that she could control that somewhat, but here with her hands firmly secured behind her back, she felt helpless. "I need to do something productive," she thought, even it was just some simple guess-work, which she seemed to be really good at tonight. She took a shot in the dark and asked about something that had been bothering her.

"So what do you think is up with the jet? Walker seems really protective of it."

"Yah, I don't know," Danny began.

They had to stop as they could already hear Walker grumbling outside the room. Both double doors swung open dramatically to reveal Walker and the guard carrying a first aid kit. Walker reopened Danny's file and looked over it as if planning out which part to bring up next. Meanwhile the guard opened the first aid kit and took out one of those emergency hypothermia-stopping blankets wrapped in plastic.

"You have a first aid kit in your jet?" Sam couldn't help but ask, "Why would ghosts need a . . ." Her voice trailed of as she realized the answer. "It's not your jet! It's a human jet, isn't it!" She knew there was something suspicious about it!

"Oh ho," Danny smirked as the guard threw the blanket around his shoulders, "who's the criminal now?"

"Still you," Walker snapped, "the jet was abandoned by humans and I had my guys bring it in and modify it for lawful purposes. Now if we're all nice and cozy, I think we'll continue where we left off-"

"Oh please," Danny half-begged, "can't we move on to a new topic?" He was going to suggest discussing why Walker had even kidnapped them all in the first place, but what Walker said next silenced him with shock.

"You're right," Walker smooth-talked, "enough about you. I think it's time we moved on to Miss Manson's record."

Mrs. Manson fainted.

**This one turned out pretty long. I hope it holds you guys over for a while cuz I haven't written any more chapters yet! But tomorrow's Friday. I should be able to find time to write . . . hopefully. Oh and ArtGirl4 – thanks so much for reviewing my story. It means a lot to me since I like yours so much!**


	6. Chapter 6: Wham

**Oh man, I love something that happens in this chapter. You guys are in for a real treat! At least, I **_**hope**_** you find it a treat. And that it was worth the wait. Although the wait was only a day really. I mean, that's not that bad compared to people who update like once a week or something like that, right?**

This is what the butterflies had been waiting for.

"Pamela," Mr.Manson said fanning his wife as he held her on his lap, "come on, honey." Jack and Maddie gathered around to help too. Jack took off his suit jacket and made a pillow for her head while Maddie rubbed her hand.

But Sam wasn't even aware of the flurry of activity going on in the cell several feet away from her. All she saw in her mind's eye was Walker holding the shock collar that time they went to his jail to rescue Wulf and their classmates. The churning of her stomach no longer reminded her of gentle, fluttering butterflies; it was more like an angry humming bird. Her fear suddenly gave way to pure rage. How dare this ghost tie up her boyfriend and subject her parents to this bogus interrogation!

"You have a file on _me_?/!" she screamed, "What did _I _ever do wrong? _You're_ the one torturing innocent ghosts like Wulf and Danny for your own enjoyment! How dare you try to accuse me of anything of that nature?" She felt like she could say more, but hesitated and instead sat back in her chair fuming.

Walker gave her a bored look. "Are you done?"

Sam didn't give him the pleasure of seeing her pale face all distorted with anger and, no matter how much she willed it away, fear. She looked away and nodded. Danny tried to catch her gaze, but she pretended like she didn't notice. Her scream-fest had come out sounding too scared and whiny, rather than threatening, and seeing Danny's it'll-be-okay face would only add to the embarrassment.

"Miss Manson was first encountered when the prisoner brought-"

"Oh, come on!" Danny interrupted, coming up with something to complain about just as he opened his mouth. He could see where this was going and he did _not_ like it. Sam's parents wouldn't care that Sam had been totally on-board with the plan for tricking Walker. They would just hear what they wanted to hear: that Danny was dangerous and often put their little girl in danger on purpose. "Your only reason for bringing us here can't possibly be to embarrass and incriminate us in front of our parents with your over-exaggerated records of our so-called crimes!"

"You think this is about embarrassing you or getting you in trouble?" Walker yelled into Danny's face.

"No, I don't, which is why I'm pointing that out. I want to know what your real reason for bringing us here is!"

"Cuz if I wanted to get you grounded," Walker continued as if Danny hadn't even spoken, "then all I'd have to do was mention the secret midnight meetings you and your little crime wench are always having!"

Sam's mouth dropped open and she quickly turned to see that her mother had, unfortunately, recovered from her little black out and was now blankly staring out of the cell bars with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. The other parents seemed frozen as well.

Sam turned to see Danny's reaction. He was still face to face with Walker who was smiling smugly, quite pleased with himself. Danny looked mad, really mad, the kind of mad that Sam only saw come out in him when he was about to do something rash, like fly at Vlad with both hands outstretched as if was going to shred him with his bare hands. Suddenly, it changed. Danny smiled over Walker's shoulder and said in a sugary-sweet voice, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Walker turned around to see . . . _nobody_ behind him. That was odd. Who was the ghost boy talking to? Walker snapped his head around to demand Danny tell him what was going on when WHAM! His face connected with Danny's dress shoe knocking him back on to his butt. It all happened so fast that Walker actually sat on the ground for a second dumbfounded.

Danny's foot still hung in the air. "Don't _ever_ talk about her like that again," he warned sternly. He then casually placed his leg on his knee and Sam saw a quick, pleased smile flash across his face. "Was he insane?" she thought to herself. Walker had them restrained and could easily do anything he wanted to either of them as payback. She watched in fear as Walker got back on his feet and picked up the file folder from where it had fallen out of his hands when Danny kicked him.

Walker opened his mouth but was interrupted by the crackling of a walkie-talkie on his belt.

"Sir?" a voice said through the static.

Walker unclipped the walkie-talkie and talked back into it. "Yes?" he answered. Sam thought he looked pretty relieved at the interruption. Maybe he hadn't known how to react to Danny's blatant disrespect.

"We've got target number two and we're just outside the warehouse," the walkie-talkie voice said.

"Excellent, bring him in," Walker said with a smile. Or maybe what he had planned for them was a lot worse than anything he could do or say right now.

**Sorry for the short chapter. I don't know if I'll have time to write anymore for a few days. Again, sorry, but that's just how it is with me and free time! Now you see it, now you don't!**


	7. Chapter 7: Free

**Well, I was able to find some time to write! Yay! I guess where there's a will, there's a way . . . as always, enjoy:)**

Everyone's attention was turned to the set of double doors at the front of the room when they heard footsteps and a low voice grumbling from behind them.

"You actually expect me to believe that _you_ were able to catch Pha-" Skulker was saying as he was escorted by a guard into the room, his hands encircled by those beams of energy that come out of the guards' buzz batons. He had stopped talking when he was fully in the room and staring at Danny and Sam tied up in the middle of the room behind Walker.

"Whoa," he finally said after a moment of silence during which he took in the complete situation, parents included.

He turned to Danny with a mock sympathetic look on his face. "This must be so embarrassing for you," he teased.

"Not really," Danny answered back smoothly, "at least I don't fly around calling myself," he paused to alter his voice so that it imitated Skulker's, "Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!" He snickered, "How does it feel to be the prey?"

Skulker just grunted and looked away.

Walker ignored them and spoke into his radio, "Surveillance team for target number three, status please."

"Surveillance?" Danny said giving Walker one of his I-really-hate-your-guts glares, "Were you spying on Sam and I?"

"Why are their parents here?" Skulker suddenly felt the need to ask.

"Dude, ever heard of a little thing called privacy?" Danny continued to pressure Walker.

"What possible advantage could their being here have?" Skulker went on.

Sam watched in amusement as Walker looked about ready to explode as Danny and Skulker both started asking questions at the same time. For some reason, Skulker's sudden appearance hadn't brought back the butterflies. Instead she felt comforted. While it was true that Skulker was one of Danny's worse enemies, she believed that he secretly had a soft spot for the half ghost. It was the half-compliment half-threat he said on the day they saved the world that really had her convinced.

"ENOUGH!" Walker finally exploded.

Danny and Skulker stopped talking, but gave eachother satisfied looks from across the room. If their hands weren't tied, Sam bet they would've high-fived.

Walker turned to Danny, "Yes, I spied on you and your girlfriend, how else would I have known where to find you tonight?"

Walker then snapped around to face Skulker who was still at the front of the room. "They," he snarled, jabbing his finger in the direction of Danny's and Sam's parents, "are here because if I didn't bring them, there was sure to be some kind of ill-conceived rescue attempt."

"Well it probably would have been all we needed to foil your little half-baked kidnapping scheme," Maddie suddenly chimed in with one of her own Danny-like death glares for Walker.

"Ooh, nice," Skulker commented.

The room seemed to freeze for a second after that.

"Did . . . did you just compliment my mom?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"I think I did," Skulker replied, also looking baffled. He turned to Walker, "You have to stop this, it's too weird, grouping me with _them_!"

Walker was unfazed. "Nice try," he said dryly.

"Then tell us why we are here!" Skulker demanded.

"Yah, dude," Danny added, "enough is enough."

Walker let out a sigh and took his time answering. "Very well then . . . I am opening a new part of my prison right here in this warehouse, a rehabilitation center, an isolated area for prisoners who are a threat to the security of the other prisoners. You two," Walker said motioning towards Danny and Skulker, "are not only flight risks yourselves, but encourage rebellion among the other prisoners," Walker's voice grew extra threatening, "which is why you'll be the first ones to be checked into the rehab center."

"And the third target? The one you're running surveillance on?" Danny questioned with a very serious you-so-did-not-scare-me-with-that-threat tone.

"Wulf, of course," Walker said casually, "He'll be undergoing a special kind of rehab. Certain features of him must be removed as they are illegal and a danger to society."

"You're going to de-claw him?" Sam asked furiously, "What, just because he's a unique creature with an amazing skill that you could never obtain, he has to suffer?"

"Sam . . ." Danny cautioned her, but Sam didn't listen. Her rage fueled her words and she continued to shout at Walker.

"Just because ghosts like Danny can get the best of you sometimes, that means they're criminals?!"

"Sam," Danny said a little more firmly.

"They aren't even the ones doing anything wrong! It's you who's wrong! Wulf is just minding his own business, not bothering you, and you have to go and freakin' attack him!"

"Sam!" Danny yelled this time.

"What?!"

"We're not gonna let that happen. He isn't touching Wulf."

"Oh really," Walker said, leaning in to smirk in Danny's face, "And what gives you so much confidence, ghost _punk_?"

"Oh, nothing," Danny replied smiling, "just the fact that your little potion you were so proud of didn't shut down my freezing powers; it kicked them into overdrive!"

Walker barely had a second to process what Danny had said before Danny opened his mouth and a giant blue blast engulfed Walker. When Danny closed his mouth and the blast had subsided, Walker stood literally frozen in place.

Danny coughed and a few beads of ice flew out of his mouth to land daintily on the concrete floor.

"You've been here for hours and you've been able to do _that_?!" Skulker said almost as surprised as Walker probably was. It was hard to gauge his reaction through all the ice.

"Relax, I wasn't able to control it until just a few seconds ago," Danny replied coolly, "now come here."

Without really knowing why, Skulker walked over and managed to just fit between the frozen Walker and captive Danny. Sam saw this as yet another sign that the hunk of metal trusted Danny. Danny blew on Skulker's wrists, freezing the energy that held them. Skulker then easily broke the ice with his um . . . robotic strength.

"Not bad," he remarked examining his freed hands and the Walker ice sculpture behind him.

"What," Danny half-teased, "you could have done better?"

"Well," Skulker began, "I do have a high-powered-"

"Don't wanna hear about it," Danny interrupted, giving Skulker a have-you-completely-forgotten-the-situation-I'm-in-right-now? glare.

"You know, I wouldn't insult your only chance at freedom if I were you," Skulker patronized, "I _could_ use this to my advantage."

"And so could I," Danny shot back, "there's plenty more where _that_ came from," he nodded towards Walker, "and it's just _begging_ to come out."

Skulker was quick to respond, "Hey, calm down, I was only kidding, geez."

Sam believed him. The butterflies that had once plagued her stomach were now completely gone and she saw that as a sign that Skulker could be trusted. After all, the little pests had been spot on, warning her whenever Walker was about to do something to make her miserable, like oh I don't know, tell her parents about how she snuck out of the house with her boyfriend late at night! Sam didn't even want to begin to imagine what the talk at home was gonna be like once this was all over.

Skulker went around behind Danny's chair and began fooling with the cuffs until he broke the lock and they fell off.

"Yesss," Danny couldn't help but hiss as he massaged his wrists where the cuffs had dug into his skin.

Skulker moved on to Sam's cuffs without a word. Danny stood up and turned to face Sam. He had a loving boyfriend smile ready for her, but when he looked into her eyes they suddenly grew wide.

"Guards!" she warned.

Danny turned to see several guards standing in the doorway. They were talking into their walkie-talkies, probably requesting back-up.

"No problem," Danny said proudly as he allowed the blue rings to appear around his waste, turning him into his ghost half. Without the cuffs he was finally able to use _all_ of his powers.

"You with me?" he turned to ask Skulker, who suddenly appeared at his side.

"Yup," he replied, his arm transforming into a giant gun of some kind.

"Ahem!"

Danny turned all the way around to see Sam standing there, freed, with her hand held out to him.

"Oh, right," Danny muttered as he detached a wrist-ray from his belt and handed it to her with a measured look that Sam knew all too well to mean either "Be careful!" or "Please not in front of your parents!" In this case it probably meant both. Sam just smiled a yes-I-am-so-going-to-fight-ghosts-with-you-in-front-of-my-parents-clearly-demonstrating-for-them-how-much-danger-you-put-me-in-daily grin.

"Let's do this," she said as soon as the wrist-ray was strapped on.

**There's something about this chapter that bothers me. I don't know why. I guess I'm just sad cuz the story's winding down. Writing the begining was so much more fun! Anyways, I definitely will not have time to write tomorrow, but I plan on writing a lot Friday so until then!**


	8. Chapter 8: Fight

**Hey, sorry, I know I said Friday but that didn't happen. Anyways, I haven't thanked reviewers in a while and I really must this time because I had a lousy day Thursday and your reviews cheered me up! So thanks to: Princess of DP, DPcrazy, Miriam1, Phantom'sShadow94, Smallvillegirl2, goth.one, Artgirl4, and Amethyst Ocean!**

The three stood ready to fight the on-coming herd of guards. No one risked a glance at the still caged parents, each for their own personal reasons.

Danny suddenly shot forward, unleashing an enormous blue blast that engulfed most of the guards as his freezing abilities were still stimulated from Walker's attempt at stopping them. Skulker and Sam then started firing away at the frozen ghosts so that they exploded into lots of little pieces. The guards that didn't get frozen and blasted pulled back and began to retreat out the double doors, whether they were really leaving the fight or just going to get more help, Danny didn't know. And he didn't really care. The retreating guards unexpectedly found themselves face-to-face with an angry looking Danny.

"Going somewhere?" ha asked threateningly.

The guards turned back to the inside of the room only to be blocked by Skulker. One actually ran right into him, producing a loud clanging sound as his helmet hit Skulker's metal suit.

"Looks like you guys have a decision to make," Skulker said with a chuckle and looking up to meet Danny's eyes.

"Yes, who would you rather meet your demise through?" Danny asked returning Skulker's playful smile.

Almost immediately all the guards turned to Skulker.

"Oh, now that's just insulting," Skulker said, sounding hurt.

Danny burst out laughing, but then Skulker gave him a death glare, so he composed himself.

"Too bad you don't get to choose," Danny said and started blasting and punching every guard nearest to him. Skulker also started attacking the guards with every weapon he could generate from his suit. Just for saying that they'd rather let him have at them than Danny, he was being extra cruel.

"Phantom!" someone shouted in a not-so-nice voice from the far end of the room. Danny looked up from the unconscious stacks of guards all around him as most were out now, save for a few Skulker had chased into a corner. Danny saw where the shout had come from and his face showed shock and fear. Skulker turned to see what had Danny spooked (ah, punny!).

Back where they had started out fighting, a guard was standing with Sam in his grasp and a buzz baton at her throat. Sam was trying her hardest to not show her fear. She instead concentrated on looking angry and determined like Danny did when he was in a bad position.

"Do what I say or your little girlfriend gets it," the guard threatened.

Danny didn't respond so the guard continued, "Release Walker."

"Don't know what to do without your boss, huh?" a voice behind the guard said.

Before the guard could even turn around he was on the ground, knocked down by a punch from . . . Phantom? The guard stared in disbelief at the Danny standing over him and then back to the one at the front of the room which waved at him with a smug smile.

Sam was free now and she wasted no more time, blasting the guard with her wrist-ray so that he flew back against the wall and went unconscious.

"You had a duplicate near me the whole time?!" Sam shouted furiously at the Danny at the front of the room.

"No," Danny was quick to reply, "just . . . now?" Sam wasn't buying it and she gave him a huge eye-roll.

Danny flew over to Sam and the duplicate disappeared back into him. He then went over to Walker, still frozen, and grabbed a set of keys off Walker's belt by going intangible. Skulker was busy finishing off the last of the guards so Danny and Sam walked over the their parents' cell. Danny used the key (like the one that went to his and Val's handcuffs that one time) to unlock the cell and let the parents out. Just as he was opening the cell, Skulker called out.

"A little help here?!"

Everyone looked to see that a fresh supply of guards had arrived at the door.

"How many of those things are there?" Sam's dad spoke up.

But Danny didn't waste time answering. He pulled out three Fenton-Fones from a pouch on his belt and pressed one into his ear while he handed the others to Sam and his mom. He also produced another wrist-ray and handed it to his mom. He would later explain to his dad that mom was just closer at the time, if it came to that. But his dad seemed to understand and accept that his wife was the better shot.

Danny put his hands on Sam's and Maddie's shoulders.

"Meet me at the jet," he said firmly, "it's probably out front."

And then he was gone. Sam saw a black and silver flash moving through the new herd of guards that were closest to the door and then a whole bunch of them froze.

"There," Danny's voice said in Sam's and Maddie's ears (through the Fones), "now go!"

"Come on!" Maddie and Sam both said at the same time running towards the exit Danny had created. The rest of the group was quick to follow for fear of getting left behind.

Danny continued to take out guards, working with Skulker to get the job done quickly. It was probably really late now. It was hard to believe that earlier tonight he thought all he would have to worry about was which fork to use first and now here he was worrying that Sam and the parents wouldn't make it to the jet unharmed. But that's why he had given them the Fones. He would be able to hear if they ran into trouble. Right now all he heard was deep breathing. But then Sam's voice came through.

"Danny?"

"Yah," he said, still fighting.

"We have a problem."

"What is it?"

"The jet can only be flown by a ghost."

**I'm not gonna make any more promises that I can't keep. But I'll predict that I will have time to get a new chapter up on Sunday. We'll see. Oh, a quick note that I think I've failed to mention: The warehouse that they are in is far from home. That's why they need the jet to get home.**


	9. Chapter 9: Jet Ride

**Okay here's a nice big chapter for ya! I guess this is what happens when I'm told by certain people to "write like the wind." lol**

"That's not a problem, I can fly the jet," Danny said taking out the last guard and high-fiving Skulker, "we're finished here so I'll be right there."

"Well the thing is," Sam replied hesitantly, "I think you need two people, er ghosts, to fly it, so . . ."

"Oh, well," Danny looked at Skulker who shot him a what-are-looking-at? glare, "I think I can handle it."

"What?" Skulker asked.

"Oh, nothing, I just need help flying Walker's _big, technologically advanced_ _jet _back to Amity Park. But with the look you're giving me right now, it's obvious you aren't gonna want to help so I'll just get my mom to-"

"I'll do it," Skulker interrupted.

Danny just smiled and said into the Fone, "We're on our way."

Skulker followed Danny out of the room and down the hallways until they found their way out of the warehouse. A massive black jet was parked right in front. Danny climbed aboard and Skulker continued to follow. As soon as he entered to see the parents all seated in plush chairs, Danny felt himself relax a little. Just a short plane-ride and they'd all be safe. A hand grabbed his wrist. Danny looked up to see Sam pulling him over to her where she was standing beside the pilot chairs. She wasn't looking at him, but at his belt. She unhooked the Fenton Thermos from his belt and held it up to his face so he could see that it said "Empty".

"Forgetting something?" she accused.

"Oh right, duh," he replied with a weak grin, "be right back."

He turned invisible and intangible and flew back to suck up Walker and all the guards that were still in one piece. With him gone, Sam was now face-to-waist with Skulker. She acted like this was no big deal and pointed to the controls in front of the pilot chairs.

"They won't respond to humans, I think only ghosts," she told him.

"Hm," Skulker grunted as he gently pushed past Sam and sat in one of the chairs.

"Welcome to the Walker-Jet 3000," an automated voice suddenly said.

"You've got to be kidding me," Skulker said and began turning knobs and pressing buttons while the voice continued to welcome him, "There's gotta be a way to turn _that_ little feature off."

A silver gloved-hand suddenly appeared and pressed a button silencing the jet's computer voice.

Skulker looked up to see that Danny was back with the thermos back on his belt. He smirked at Skulker.

"I would have found it eventually," Skulker muttered.  
Danny hopped into the seat next to Skulker and fired up the jet.

"Seatbelts everyone?" Danny asked glancing back.

"Yah, buckle up, it's the _law_," Skulker said laughing at his own joke.

"Very clever," Danny said dryly as he readied the jet for take-off.

The noise of the jet was not as loud as normal airplanes, still Danny and Skulker could really only hear eachother. This left Sam with both sets of the parents in the back of the jet.

"He promised," she muttered.

"You're right, I did," Danny's voice came into Sam's ear through the Fenton Fone, "and technically you're still not alone with them."

Sam looked up to see Maddie smiling at her from her cozy jet chair across from Sam's. She still had her Fenton Fone in her ear too.

"Oh!" Sam gasped realizing that that meant Maddie could hear them, "No offense, Mrs.Fenton." Only Danny and Maddie could hear her through the Fones. Her parents and Jack sat in their chairs towards the back of the jet, not making eye contact.

"None taken," Maddie replied into her Fone, "Danny, are you sure you don't need my help flying?"

"I got it, Mom," Danny assured her, glancing back to smile at his mom and girlfriend.

"Plane!" Skulker suddenly shouted and the jet did a sharp turn that made everyone clench their armrests.

Sam managed to look out the window to see a jet, smaller than the one they were in, whiz past.

"Danny!" she shouted, forgetting that he could hear her even if she had whispered using the Fones, "Wulf's in that plane!"

"Are you sure?!" Danny yelled back.

"Positive! I saw him! Walker's goons said they had him on surveillance, remember?"

"Crud," Danny said, his mind racing with options. He turned to Skulker, "Can you handle the controls for a little while?"

"Of course," Skulker said, sounding offended.

"Great, then turn around and once I'm back start shooting at that other jet," Danny instructed.

"Wait, what?"  
"Just do it!"

The jet did another sharp turn and as soon as the tail of the other jet was in view Danny got up and flew through the windshield. Then Skulker saw him disappear into the other jet.

"Wait!" Maddie yelled as she and Sam both came running to the cockpit.

"Where'd he go?" Sam shouted at Skulker.

"He went into the other jet, don't yell at _me_," Skulker said.

"Danny!" Maddie, suddenly remembering the Fones, spoke into hers.

"Shh . . ." came the hissed reply.

Sam and Maddie looked at eachother worriedly. It was just like Danny to rush into something without consulting either of them. When they ran to the cockpit they had been hoping to convince him that he shouldn't go alone.

"Mi amico! SHH!" Maddie and Sam heard through the Fones.

"That's Wulf," Sam explained.

"Hey!" what sounded like a guard's voice shouted loud enough for Danny's Fone to pick it up. Then there was some blasting, reminding Sam of when she had Danny on the phone earlier that day – was it really still the same day? – when he was fighting the guards who started this stupid mess.

Suddenly Sam and Maddie shivered. Then Danny and Wulf appeared on the floor behind them. Still accelerating some, they crashed into the chairs Maddie and Sam had vacated.

"Danny!" Sam and Maddie said at the same time and rushed over.

"I'm fine," Danny said immediately getting up, "Sam, help Wulf. Skulker, now! Take them down!"

Skulker began firing at the jet in front of theirs with the weapons Walker had modified the jet with. Sam turned to Wulf. He was almost as bad as the last time they'd found him at the camp. He began struggling to his feet and smiled at her, letting his tongue fall out of his mouth.

"We don't have any berries," she found herself saying.

"You'll have to settle for Neosporin," Danny said as he handed her a first aid kit he had snagged from the other jet since Walker had taken the one from the jet they were in when Danny needed a blanket.

"Oh, right, duh," Sam replied, smiling sheepishly at Danny. She suddenly realized he was holding his arm near the shoulder.

"Danny, your arm!" she cried.

"It's nothing," he insisted and tried to return to his pilot seat.

"Oh, no you don't," she said pulling him by his other arm into the seat she had been sitting in earlier. Maddie appeared on the other side of him and together they forced him to sit and let them examine his arm.

"Mission accomplished!" Skulker suddenly exclaimed from the cockpit. At the same time an explosion could be heard coming from below the jet.

"Good," Danny replied without really paying attention. He was watching Sam tend to Wulf while his mom bandaged his arm. "I think we're finally in the clear," he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and sighed, leaning his head back against the back of the nice jet chair.

He flinched when he opened his eyes and saw his Dad's face right in front of his.

"Sorry," Jack replied quickly, "you okay?"

"I'm fine," Danny said, knowing what his dad really wanted, "I'll give you all the gory details later."

Maddie's head snapped up from Danny's arm to give him and her husband a look.

"The _other_ ghosts' gore, Mom, not mine," Danny quickly explained.

Maddie just rolled her eyes and went back to putting the finishing touches on Danny's bandage. Jack gave Danny a wink and mussed his hair before sitting back down.

Danny then looked over at Sam and almost laughed.

Sam was talking to Wulf in a soothing baby-talk kind of way as she applied medicine to the cuts and scrapes on his paws. His claws were out so that she could get to all the wounds around and in between them. Sam's parents were watching with their eyes popping out of their sockets and their jaws just about on the floor.

"There, all done," Maddie said getting up.

"Thanks Mom," Danny said also getting up. He walked over to Skulker in the cockpit.

"We're going to Sam's house," Danny explained, "it's on-"

"I know where it is," Skulker interrupted.

"You do?" Danny said in a you-better-NOT-be-telling-me-that-you- know-where-my-girlfriend-lives kind of voice.

"Relax, over-protective one," Skulker smooth-talked, "it's programmed into the jet. Probably from when he came to get you guys earlier."

"Oh," Danny said, feeling stupid. "How'd you get so smart?" he teased.

"A hunter must never let his prey become smarter than he is," Skulker replied.

"You sound like a fortune cookie," Danny said back, but smiled to himself at the half-compliment. Danny then turned back to Sam and Wulf.

"Hold still," Sam was saying as she attempted to apply a bandage to Wulf's wrist.

Danny hurried over to help. He stroked Wulf's fur to calm him down a little so he would stop squirming.

"Hang on, Buddy," he said.

"There, that's all," Sam said pulling back and looking at Danny, "man, how they manage to do so much damage to him without getting shredded, I will never understand."

"Ha," Danny agreed, "me neither."

He continued looking at Sam and she continued looking at him. It was one of those moments when the rest of the world disappeared around them and it was just them alone. And yet, Danny could feel Sam's parents watching them. But it was as if that didn't matter and so he was about to move in to give her a hug or kiss when he was suddenly covered in slobber as Wulf gave him a huge thank-you lick. Sam giggled. Danny moved closer to her anyways and she grabbed his hand, giving him a rain-check-on-that-kiss kind of look. They turned to look at Wulf.

"Well, you're free, _again_," Danny said, hoping that maybe Wulf would leave before they made it back to Sam's. The unease in the jet because of Wulf's presence was obvious to him. Even his mom, who had so far been the most okay with everything that was happening, kept her gaze averted from the giant ghost as if she could pretend he wasn't there.

Wulf was on all-fours as he couldn't stand all the way up in the jet because it was so small. He stretched like a cat, letting his claws extend so that they just stopped at Danny's and Sam's feet. Danny shot him a dude-my-parents-are-right-there look at this.

"Sorry," Wulf said in his raspy voice.

"It's okay," Danny said smiling, "now stay out of trouble."

"Yah, no more open portals, remember?" Sam added.

Wulf nodded and then disappeared out of the jet. (He can fly, can't he?)

Danny pulled Sam close so he could mumble in her ear, "One down, one to go."

Sam giggled and pulled away to nod. They parted, Sam going back to her chair next to Maddie and Danny to his pilot chair.

Maddie smiled again at Sam, but Sam didn't see it this time. "They seem to have forgotten about the Fones again," she thought to herself, but didn't say anything so that they wouldn't be embarrassed.

The rest of the ride continued in silence as everyone either pretended to sleep or be really interested in what was out the window. It wasn't long before Danny and Skulker landed the jet on the street right in front of Sam's house. By now it was really late at night and no one in their little town was out.

**I'm thinkin' that there's only gonna be one more chapter actually. I probably should have made this one in to two, but I didn't want to torture you with another cliffie! ;)**


	10. Chapter 10: The Talk

**Warnings: 1. This **_**is**_** the final chapter of this story. Sorry, but it's over. I could have divided it into two (it's 3000 words people!) but that would have been too painful.**

**2. This gets mushy. No, not DxS mushy. Well, yah there's that, but I don't need to warn you about that cuz, well, you like that. I'm talking about parents-son/daughter mushy. At some points I was even tempted to have tears in their eyes, but I decided against it. You can still imagine them, if you want.**

**3. There's a sneak peak at my next story at the bottom. NO! Don't look at it now! You might start reading the end of the fic and ruin it!**

**Alright, that's enough of that, enjoy . . .**

Danny floated in the air at the exit of the jet, helping everyone with the big jump from the jet to the ground. Even Sam's mom accepted Danny's hand gratefully. Without realizing that everyone _human_ was already off the jet, Danny offered his hand to the last person.

"Ew," Skulker said disdainfully looking at Danny's hand as if it was diseased.

Danny rolled his eyes and floated to the ground with Skulker right behind him.

"So is everybody okay?" Danny asked. He was answered with some nods and weak smiles. He just nodded back, unsure of what to do or say next.

"I'm not," Skulker put in.

Danny sighed and turned to face his foe.

"You owe me," Skulker said leaning in close to Danny's face, "more than you already did."

"Since when did I already owe you?" Danny questioned with a frown.

"Uh, when I got all the other ghosts to help you save the world," Skulker replied as if it was obvious.

"Oh puh-lease, you said you guys were only doing it to save yourselves."

"Let me keep the jet and we're even," Skulker suddenly reasoned.

"No!" Danny said in a that's-ridiculous! kind of voice.

"Well what are you going to do with it?"

"Give it back to whoever Walker stole it from."

"They won't want it now, even if you can get it to work for humans again."

"I don't care," Danny said sternly, "you're not getting it."

"Is the truce over now? Cuz I really feel like hitting you," Skulker growled, getting closer.

"I'm not going to fight you _now_, if that's what you're asking," Danny said, motioning with his eyes towards the people behind him.

"Well, what if I don't ask?" Skulker said his fingers wiggling as if they were suddenly going to transform into a weapon.

"Then, I do this," Danny said smiling as he reached his hand through Skulker's head and pulled out the little ghost.

"That is so not fair," Skulker said in his scrawny little voice as he hung from Danny's fingers.

"Sorry dude, but you were asking for it," Danny said still smiling. Then his voice turned serious, "now go home," he stated firmly.

"Alright, alright," the small ghost said and Danny let him go. He then disappeared back into the robot suit and immediately flew away.

Danny sighed and transformed into his human self as he turned around. He was getting that I'm-amazed-and-confused stare from everyone except Sam. He got it a lot when people saw him exchanging banter with his enemies. What confused most people, especially his parents, was how ghosts can be bitter rivals one second and then helpful buddies the next, like with the whole Christmas truce. He had tried to explain it to his parents before, but he could tell they still thought it was some kind of trap. They'd just have to observe for themselves when Christmas actually came. The whole now-we're-friends-now-we're-enemies thing was easy for Danny to accept, but he guessed that was his ghost-half's instincts kicking in. Anyways, he was really not enjoying being stared at so he just kinda stood there not saying anything, letting the silence sink in so that someone other than himself would speak.

"Well, thanks for having us?" Maddie finally spoke up.

Everyone chuckled a little at that, but then it went back to being quiet.

"Um kids?" Mrs. Manson suddenly began talking, her voice getting stronger as she went on, "would it be okay with you if us adults went inside and talked for a little while?"

"Oh," Danny said turning to check Sam's reaction. She did not look happy. Danny went ahead and answered with, "Sure, no problem," guessing Sam was not going to put her two-cents in. And if she did, it wouldn't be a very _nice_ two-cents.

The adults filed inside Sam's house, leaving Danny and Sam outside and alone for practically the first time that night. Danny immediately went over to Sam and put his arms around her. She returned the hug, burying her face in his shoulder.

Maddie was the last one to enter the house. Mrs. Manson led them to the sitting room and they all sat down, Sam's parents on one couch, Jack and Maddie on the other couch catty-corner to it. At first no one knew what to say. Maddie fidgeted with her hands and then reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. When she did, her fingers brushed the Fenton Fone. This time _she_ had forgotten all about them. She took it off and gently placed it on the table between the couches, thinking it was rude to have it in when someone was trying to have a serious conversation with you.

"This can't be easy for you either," Mrs. Manson finally began, "I mean, it's probably even harder for you than it is for us-"

"Sam, don't cry."

All the adults looked around in shock as Danny's voice floated through the room.

"I'm not crying." Now Sam's voice? The adults continued looking for the teens, but Maddie figured it out.

"Oh gosh," she whispered. Everyone in the room turned to her and she just pointed to the Fenton Fone on the table.

"I just," Sam's voice continued to come through the Fone as if she were in the room with them, "I just don't know what to do."

"Come on sit down," Danny said gently.

Outside, Danny led Sam to the front stoop and they sat down together on the first step.

"I mean, right now, they're probably in there discussing whether or not we'll be able to see eachother anymore and I feel so helpless," Sam vented, "it's not fair, we're not doing anything wrong!"

"I know," Danny soothed, putting his arm around Sam and rubbing her shoulder, "but come on Sam, do you really think that little of your parents? They're not gonna do something as rash as not letting us date."

Sam gave him a you-really-believe-that?-cuz-I-don't look. Danny returned it with a stop-being-overly-dramatic look. Sam sighed.

"They just don't understand," Sam said, "and they won't let us explain."

"Maybe they will," Danny countered.

"Hm, that's funny cuz I thought that in order to actually hear someone's side of a story you have to sit down and talk with them _before_ you pass judgement."

"They are not in there passing _judgement_ on us, Sam."

"Oh really, well only one way to find out now isn't there?" Sam looked straight at him and raised her eyebrow.

Danny smiled, "No, I'm not doing that."

Sam curled her lip down and gave him the sad eyes.

"Aw, you're so cute," Danny cooed. Sam looked hopeful for a second, "No," he stated again.

"But Danny . . ."

"We don't need to spy. There's nothing to worry about."

"How can you say that?! Have you already forgotten about Walker spilling about our so-called midnight meetings?"

"Oh right, that."

"Yah, that. And he made them sound so wrong too. I mean, first of all it's not like we plan them ahead of time or anything, it just happens. You call me or I call you and the next thing you know, we need to see eachother." Sam paused. "And it's not like we're doing what they think we're doing!"

"Which is?"

"Making out . . . or worse. I mean, we're just talking! That's usually why we call eachother, one of us can't sleep and needs to talk it out. That's it and it's gonna be so unfair when they punish us just for that!"

There was another long pause. Sam rested her head on Danny's shoulder.

"Maybe," Danny spoke up, "maybe they'll consider that."

Sam looked up at him with yah-right eyes. Danny looked back at her and she could see how he genuinely thought that her parents could understand. She sighed.

"They don't understand, Danny."

"Understand what exactly?"

"This," she grabbed his hand.

"I'm sure they were in love once."

"No, it's more than that. The ride, remember? We're on the ride together. I was with you from the moment you got your powers, through almost every fight, the good and the not-so-good, through your highs and your lows, through watching you give it all up and then gain it all back. You told me you were okay with whatever happens next as long as I'm there for it and I really really want to be there for it."

The last words came out carefully as if Sam was doing all she could to hold back tears. She snuggled closer to Danny and he hugged her tighter. They sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Have you told them any of that?" Danny suddenly asked.

"What do you mean? I told you they won't understand."

"Yah, but have you actually told them how you became a part of this, that it wasn't just something I got you sucked into."

"Well no, but I'm sure they've heard it on the interviews."

"I think it would mean more coming from you."

Sam looked up to meet his eyes. He was being serious.

"I hate it when you sound all mature like that. I'm supposed to be the brains and you're the brawn."

"It's not about brains, Sam, it's about letting your parents in. I didn't for the longest time. But now that I have, it feels good."

"I know, I know, I get it, Mr. No-More-Secrets."

"I'm just saying, it's not as bad as you think it is."

Sam continued to look into his eyes with a trusting girlfriend smile. They leaned closer for a kiss but all of a sudden Danny's stomach growled and they both burst out laughing.

"Oh gosh, you must be starving after all that!" Sam said through her laughter.

"Don't worry about it," Danny said slightly embarrassed.

"No, you made me a promise and kept it the whole night. My only job was to feed you and I failed!"

They both kept laughing. It felt good to laugh after all the stress tonight had brought.

But then Sam stopped and looked at Danny and all the color seemed to drain from her face, her eyes growing wide. Danny noticed and became concerned.

"Sam, are you okay?" All the laughter was gone from his voice.

"Oh gosh," she gasped.

"What?" he said grabbing her by the shoulders.

She reached up and pulled off his Fenton Fone. They both looked at it, then up at eachother. Danny's eyes were now as big as Sam's. Without saying anything they both suddenly jumped up from the first step and ran up to the door. Sam showed no hesitation as she grabbed the door to her house and swung it open. She ran inside with Danny right on her heels. They made it to the sitting room and froze.

The parents froze too. The guilt was plastered on their faces. And as if that weren't enough proof there in the center of the table was Maddie's Fenton Fone. Sam removed the one from her ear and blew in it. The one on the table echoed the whooshing noise. Sam turned to Danny.

The parents watched baffled as the two teens seemed to engage in some kind of argument using only their eyes. Danny shook his head "no" a few times which seemed to make Sam angry. She even stamped her foot at one point. Then Danny finally nodded at one of the looks and Sam turned around.

"We've decided to hear your side of the story," Sam said reluctantly. She glanced back to Danny as if to say "Are you sure you won't agree to more drastic measures?" He just nodded again to acknowledge that she was doing the right thing, so she turned back to face the parents and gave them a start-talking! kind of look.

"It's my fault," Maddie said guiltily, "I took it off without turning it off. I should have known that we'd still be able to hear you if you had them on. I mean, after all, I designed them."

"No," Mrs. Manson cut in, "it's all of our faults. Any of us could have turned it off at any time but we didn't."

"It all happened so fast," Mr. Manson added.

"We're really sorry," Jack finished for them.

They all hung their heads in shame.

Sam sighed. Danny nudged her forward. She gave him a look but took the step forward so that she was closer to her parents.

"I'm sorry too," she said, "I'm sorry that I didn't have the guts to say any of that to your face. Danny's right. I shouldn't keep so much from you."

Her parents looked up in shock.

"No sweetie," Mrs. Manson said grabbing her daughter's hand, "obviously we're doing something wrong if you actually think that we would try to tear you and Danny apart when it's so clear that you two care about eachother a lot."

"I think Danny's proven that he's not going to let anything happen to you," Mr. Manson took over, "I think we can trust you two to watch out for eachother."

"So does that mean you're okay with this?" Sam asked pointing to the wrist-ray on her arm.

Her parents exchanged glances.

"As long as you're careful and don't take any stupid risks," Mr. Manson warned, "then yes you can . . . uh . . . do what you gotta do." He smiled.

A low stomach growl rumbled through the air.

Everyone looked at Danny.

"Um, actually," Mrs. Manson spoke up, "that was me."

The room practically exploded with laughter.

* * *

"So then I notice that Wulf's not helping us with the tank so I ask, 'Where's Wulf?' and we look over and he's got his tongue stuck on Walker!" Sam barely got the words out as she burst into a fit of giggles along with everyone else in the room.

"Sam was like, 'Ferocious yes, smart not so much' man, it was hilarious," Danny finished and everyone laughed again.

They were all gathered once again in the dining room. But instead of fine china, paper plates, napkins, and pizza boxes adorned the table. The guys had all removed their ties and Danny had his sleeves rolled up. Sam had changed into a t-shirt and plaid pajama pants. The whole atmosphere was much more laid back than it had been the whole night.

"So then what happened when you got your classmates back to camp?" Mr. Manson inquired.

Danny and Sam exchanged glances. They were sitting next to eachother now, instead of across like before.

"We told them it was all a dream," Danny stated matter-of-factly.

"And they believed you?" Maddie marveled.

Danny and Sam just nodded. They didn't feel like tonight was the right night to bring up how many times their parents had believed things they had said to cover up ghost attacks and what not.

"Well, I don't think I could eat another bite," Danny announced.

Everyone at the table agreed.

"If we keep you hear any longer, we'll have to feed you breakfast," Mr. Manson joked.

"Come on, we'll show you to the door," Mrs. Manson said getting up.

The entrance way was filled with lots of "Thank you"s and "That was certainly an interesting night" jokes as the adults actually hugged good-byes. Sam dragged Danny to the door and they went out onto the front stoop together.

They stood in the cool night air holding hands. Without any warning Sam threw her arms around Danny's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"Wow," Danny said when she let go, "what was that for?"

"You know," she smiled, "just being you. This is gonna be weird, but-"

"You'll get used to it?"

"Yah, at least you better hope I do."

Danny just smiled. Sam gave him a peck on the cheek and opened the door to go inside and let the Fentons out.

"Oh and Sam," Danny called after her. She turned back.

"If you can't sleep tonight, don't call."

Sam acted mad and pulled the wrist-ray out of her pocket as if she was contemplating about using it on him. But then she smiled and gave a little wave good-bye.

Danny's parents came down the steps and they all headed towards the RV. When they were all buckled up inside, Maddie turned to Danny and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, what you said to Sam was really sweet," she said giving his shoulder a loving squeeze, "you made us really proud tonight and not just because of the way you handled the ghosts."

"Though that was really awesome too," Jack put in. Maddie gave him a look and then turned back to Danny.

"I'm just glad you really feel like you can trust us now and tell us anything that's bothering you," she gave his shoulder another squeeze.

Danny smiled warmly at his mom.

"Like right now?"

"Something's bothering you?" Maddie asked instantly looking concerned.

"Um, yah," Danny hesitated, "that's my hurt arm."

"What? Oh! Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry," Maddie said releasing her grip.

"It's cool, Mom," Danny said laughing it off, "I've had worse."

"Do tell," Maddie said sarcastically.

"No, I mean," Danny stammered.

"Now young man, you did promise that you would tell us _everything_," Maddie started fake lecturing.

"Man, I am never making another promise for as long as I live," Danny vowed as he slunk down in his seat for the rest of the ride home.

The End

**Well, there ya go. Perhaps there will be a sequel, another dinner party? But not now. For there are other stories to be written! Sneak peak at what I'm gonna write next:**

**Title: Rehabilitating Vlad (may change)**

**Plot: Vlad's returned to earth! But not exactly by choice. The world wants to toss him in prison and throw away the key. But Danny speaks up. He remembers that old, decrepit future Vlad that wished for a second chance and helped him defeat his evil puss-pack self. Will the world let Danny give Vlad a second chance? Will Vlad accept the second chance? Well, let's just say there's therapy, a make-over, and go-carts involved. ;)**

**Um stuff: more DxS fluff, plus Tucker and Jazz will actually be in this one, and I can't forget to mention, Vlad and Danny bonding!**

**If you enjoy Vlad being evil, you might wanna skip this one, sorry.**

**Thanks again to all my reviewers, people who made me and/or the story a favorite, and people who requested alerts on me and/or the story! Without you guys I might not have kept going! It might be a while till I get this next story up and running but I promise it will come eventually. Bye for now:)**


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